Post-Schna-ulations

More reasons to love the Senate

I'm beginning to lack the energy to be pissed off about things like the following article. Instead of being pissed off, I just feel totally defeated. One step closer to being beaten into submission by a government full of moralistic assholes with no common sense or compassion. And so it goes...

I've decided to post the whole article here, as it's short and important. While increased money to the NIH is a very good thing, once again the main thrust of the prevention of AIDS is abstinence. Once again imposing moral judgement over practical approaches. However, the freezing of funds to the Ryan White CARE Act is perhaps the most significant and the most disheartening point of the article.
Ryan White AIDS Funding Freeze

(Washington) The Senate Appropriations Committee has frozen funding to the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act and other AIDS care programs.
The only program to see an increase in federal money was the Aids Drug Assistance Program which will get an additional $35 million - falling far short of the $217 million AIDS care activists had sought.
"This funding short changes the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Human Rights Campaign President Cheryl Jacques.
The only substantial increase was $1.1 billion for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will benefit HIV/AIDS research.
In addition to flat funding the CARE Act, the committee voted not to increase money for prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Prevention is our only vaccine and we need to get it out to those most at risk: young people, gay and bisexual men and people of color communities," said Jacques
But, while the committee voted to hold the line on HIV/AIDS education and care it decided to give $36.5 million to fund abstinence-until-marriage programs.
"The Senate put politics ahead of science," added Jacques.
The Ryan White CARE Act is the largest single source of public funds (excluding Medicaid) that treats people with HIV/AIDS in the United States. First enacted in 1990, the Act supports a wide range of community-based services, including primary and home health care, case management, substance abuse treatment and mental health services, and nutritional and housing services.

posted by Schna @ 8:48 AM